There was the interesting, amusing, truthful-by-avoidance and always entertaining press conference from Wolves boss David Kahn preceding last night's regular-season finale. There was a decent-sized crowd at the actual game -- some wanting to see exactly how fans would be appreciated on Fan Appreciation Night (short answer: bad defense, a few nice giveaways, and tons of T-shirts) and many others wanting to voice their displeasure with the current regime. And then there was the action on the court, which save for a stretch in the third quarter felt like a pick-up game being played on a very nice court. It was all very strange. That poorly taken picture is apt. It was blurry, fuzzy, poorly lit, like an off-kilter artist's rendering of what a bad basketball game might look like.

It was probably the weirdest major pro sporting even we've ever attended, given the obscene level of disengagement with the actual on-court product (save for one gentleman behind us, who shouted un-ironic instruction and encouragement right to the bitter end as he spit sunflower seed shells into an empty M&M's box).

There was no Kevin Love -- the player who provided the most hope this season but who still has plenty of steps to make if he is going to be a top guy on a winning team. There was no Darko Milicic -- a player who showed glimmers of hope, particularly early on, but whose fade was undeniable. There was no Jonny Flynn to be found -- dismissed for personal reasons, which could have been as simple as it would have been embarrassing for one of the team's centerpieces 18 months ago barely getting off the bench (if at all) had he been there in uniform.

There was the realization that the team has drafted three players in the top 6 of the draft over the past two years combined. Those three players didn't combine to score 1,000 points for a team that scored more than 8,000 this season. Individually, there are reasons and potentials. Flynn was injured. Wes Johnson showed some promise but was erratic. Ricky Rubio is still in Europe. Collectively, though, that's a bitter pill to swallow. If you believe something can be salvaged in a trade of Flynn, that Rubio will come here to play, that Johnson will evolve and that there will be an NBA season in 2011-12, then you must believe Johnson, Rubio and the player to be named later must, say, triple that output next season, lest those first two Kahn drafts start to be judged even more harshly.

There was a halftime that saw new Lynx star Maya Moore command an autograph line in the concourse that stretched around several sections. We're not sure what Minnesotans love more -- encounters with famous people, free things or the promise of competent basketball -- but whatever it was, it was working Wednesday.

There was an altogether too-long dance party on the court after the game, as happy music and gyration tried to wash away a 17-win season that ended with a 15-game losing streak.

With more contributions from draft picks, with better coaching adjustments and with better on-court chemistry and defense, this team could have won close to twice as many games this season. Instead, it was one weird mix that never quite meshed. And it led to one very weird finale.